About Us
OUR PURPOSE:
Together We Make a Difference
What first led you to train in counselling? If it was because you wanted to make a difference, then you’re among friends here. We share your desire to make a difference in the lives of clients who choose to visit a counsellor.
The pain of someone who – feeling emotional pain – reaches out to a counsellor is contagious, with those close to them experiencing the pain by proxy. Effective counsellors enable clients to shift deep emotion, help process pain, and find or re-find a more accepting and enjoyable life – while ineffective counsellors can leave the client feeling even worse, like they have failed and hope has gone.
We know that, by educating counsellors and helping them sharpen their skillset, their service to clients will be improved. The positive effects will help others too. We call this ‘the golden ripple effect’.
Rory Lees-Oakes, Co-Founder & Director
Ken Kelly, CEO and Co-Founder
Colette Kelly, Community Manager
Lucy Mosha, People & Process Manager
Laurice Chavez, Fulfilment Manager
Sarah Carr, Academic Writer
Maria Soriano, Customer Support Representative
Paul Cullen, Community Engagement and Moderation Manager
Christine Shore, Head Tutor and Assessor
Kristen Kelly, Intern
Our Values:
Connection, Service, Passion
These three core values run through how we behave towards each other, our clients and our customers:
- We listen, trying to understand without judgement.
- We are who we say we are, and are always honest even when this is hard.
- We do what is right, not what is easy, and we never compromise our values.
- We ask for help and give help, supporting each other to be our best selves.
- We do what we say we will.
Professional Relationships:
Working with Others
In true connective spirit, we have working links with a number of other organisations in the field of counselling and psychotherapy, for example:
- We are an organisational member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP), and our Online and Telephone Counselling course meets the BACP competence framework requirements for practitioners who wish to work with clients via telephone and e-counselling.
- We collaborated with the Counselling and Psychotherapy Central Awarding Body (CPCAB) on a regular section – ‘Check-in with CPCAB’ – in our weekly podcast during the 2019/20 academic year.
- Our Online and Telephone Counselling course has been awarded Quality Checked training recognition by the National Counselling Society (NCS).
- We are a recognised Online Training Provider with the Association for Counselling and Therapy Online (ACTO).
Our Story:
Are You Sitting Comfortably?
Then we shall begin …
Once upon a time, a young (at heart if not in years) counselling teacher named Rory was sitting in his classroom at Warrington Collegiate. The last of his students had just shuffled off through the door, and Rory had grabbed himself a well-earned cup of tea. Dunking his bourbon biscuit, he exhaled heavily, as he reflected on his morning’s work …
Rory was an enthusiastic and well-liked tutor, whose classes were never dull. But sometimes, he mused, counselling concepts and counselling skills could be quite dry to explain – and pretty complex for newbies to understand.
It was alright for him, when he’d learned these years earlier and applied them plenty with his own clients … but how might he be able to help his students, fresh to the wonderful world of counselling training, understand the ideas – and enjoy their learning even more?
That day, a strange thing happened. The Warrington Weekly was inundated with calls reporting an explosion of bright light in the skies above the local college. What on earth had occurred? No one there could explain: everyone was safe and well, and the building intact.
Just one person – yes, you guessed it, our Rory! – knew the answer. His brain was buzzing with an amazing and (counselling) world-changing inspiration. His morning cuppa must have had magical qualities that day. And so Counselling Tutor was born!
As an infant, Counselling Tutor – though very bright and shiny – was quite small, as babies usually are: it comprised a selection of training videos on YouTube for Rory’s own students. But gradually word spread of the crystal-clear resources, beautiful to behold. And then – one lucky day – along strolled Ken.
Now, Ken had been a student of Rory’s, later training to be a tutor himself. By good fortune (and hard work), he also happened to have an online business brain and lots of experience to go with it. Always a clever and caring lad, who kept his eyes and ears wide open for opportunities to make a positive difference in the world, Ken was quick to spot Counselling Tutor’s potential to grow reeeeally big, casting its light on more and more minds.
Rory and Ken became the best of friends, and worked hard together to make Counselling Tutor bigger and better than ever before. To Rory’s YouTube channel, Ken added his own secret ingredient: assignment exemplars that students could use to guide them in their work.
And so, the magic bean that Rory and Ken had planted and seen sprout into life – finding its environment favourable, with water, food and light aplenty – shot upwards into the sky, strong yet flexible. Counselling Tutor became visible to counsellors and psychotherapists from all over the UK – and even in lots of other lands.
As the months and years ticked by, Rory and Ken spotted others on their travels who could help them make an even bigger difference – training more students in counselling concepts, skills and practice; sharpening the skills of more practitioners; and enabling more people to get the right counselling help in the right place at the right time.
And so the Counselling Tutor family grows and thrives, living happily ever after …
Products and Services:
What We Offer and What Users Think
Online assignment guidance and study support for students of counselling and psychotherapy. Accessible, online learning platform, available 24/7.
I just wanted to say how impressed I am with this study resource. It's absolutely fantastic. Thanks for creating it! David
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Now I am properly up and running, I am really starting to appreciate how good CSR is, but more importantly, what a superb and understanding organisation you are, with a fantastic innovative management team. Ray
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I'm starting a 4-year psychotherapy course in a couple of weeks. I've found your lectures and videos very helpful. Janice
Hundreds of hours of on-demand CPD lectures, training and resources to support your continuing professional development.
After being in practice for many years, this has got to be the best value CPD I have ever undertaken. Gill
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The format of the training really suits me as it means I do not have to read reams of information. I can listen to the information as well as read the concise PowerPoints. Rachel
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Extremely easy to follow whether on a phone, tablet or computer. There is always one of the team on hand to support our learning. Emma
80 hours of CPD – expert-designed and led online course, tailored not only to your learning needs but also to your budget.
I thoroughly enjoyed the course and found it very useful for all the online work that I am now doing. I have also recommended it to many colleagues and my supervisor, who was most impressed with the content and execution by Ken and Rory. Janis
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I am so, so pleased I followed your course. It has allowed me to safely and confidently carry on working throughout these last months. I may well have far more ‘on-line’ clients rather than face-to-face ones in the future!!! I am recommending you to all my supervisees! Jill
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Fabulous content. Well-spaced between modules to avoid overload of information. Neil